FCEV

This near-future electric vehicle converts methanol into hydrogen to produce electricity in its fuel cell. A fuel cell electric vehicle produces electricity in on-board fuel cells, using the energy to power its motor. If the fuel cell cannot produce enough electricity for the motor during acceleration, a bank of batteries provides a power boost. When the vehicle decelerates or goes down a hill, the motor acts as a generator, using the kinetic energy to generate electricity and store it in the batteries, charging them. FCEVs differ from conventional electric vehicles in their source of electricity. In other words, they need not depend on outside sources. Hydrogen is the fuel that produces the electricity. And Toyota already developed another FCEV that stores hydrogen in storage units containing hydrogen absorbing alloy (metal hydride). This time, however, we developed an FCEV that uses methanol as its basic fuel, reforming the methanol into hydrogen to produce electricity. The body, chassis, and powertrain are the same as the RAV4 EV.

Here's what Toyota's FCEV needs to operate: fuel cells, a tank to hold the methanol fuel, a conversion device to produce hydrogen from methanol, and batteries, among other things. In this FCEV, we reduced the size of many components so everything could fit beneath the floor. As a result, no interior passenger or luggage space needs to be sacrificed. The FCEV uses methanol as its source of energy. Methanol is a byproduct of the dry distillation of wood. It is also called wood alcohol or methyl alcohol. Today, most methanol is made from natural gas. It is one of the leading candidates in the search for a greater variety of energy sources. R&D projects aim at developing technology to produce methanol from bio-mass materials, to ensure a stable, long-term supply of fuel.

There is no combustion in fuel cells. Instead, they produce electricity directly, through chemical reaction. And that results in very high efficiency. As a vehicle, a methanol-powered FCEV is more than twice as energy-efficient as a gasoline-powered car. So even though methanol has only half the calorific value of gasoline, and even though the FCEV's fuel tank holds a little less than a gasoline model, the FCEV has the same cruising range (about 500 km) as a gasoline car. Liquid methanol means only minor changes in the infrastructure. The FCEV uses liquid methanol, storing it in a tank resembling those used for gasoline or diesel fuel. Refilling the tanks can be done just as quickly as filling up conventional vehicles. In addition, because methanol is a liquid, conventional filling stations can handle it with minimal equipment changes. Completely new infrastructure would be necessary to charge battery-powered EVs or to refill hydrogen-powered cars. With methanol-powered FCEVs, the same service stations we use today will work just fine. Although the FCEV has what's called a fuel cell, it actually produces electricity.It's the source of the energy needed to power the motor to drive the car. Nevertheless, to provide additional power and to regenerate power during deceleration, the vehicle has batteries and a regenerative braking system to make the entire system more efficient. The nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are compact yet powerful. They provide a power boost when starting out. And they store power when the fuel cells produce more than the motor needs, and when the motor recovers energy from deceleration and braking. When extra power is needed, the batteries augment the energy from the fuel cells so the motor gives more output.

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